


From the beginning

by football_fan



Series: From the beginning [1]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Sharing a Room, Tottenham Hotspur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28569339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/football_fan/pseuds/football_fan
Summary: First ever post! Please be kind❤️
Relationships: Dele Alli/Eric Dier
Series: From the beginning [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093313
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	From the beginning

Looking back at that particular july day, Dele was sitting in the back of the car being driven to his first official day as a Tottenham Hotspur player. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. Even though he signed his contract back in january he wanted to finish out the season with his boyhood club and he was proud of everything they achived as team, but he was getting older, 19 to be exact and he wanted more for himself, he was ready to challenge himself. However, he was still nervous, what if he doesn't live up to the expectations, what if the manager doesn't like him, he still remembers how embarrassed he was when Poch was mad at him for not shaking his hand when he first got to the training ground, Dele really didn't mean to be rude, he just didn't want to interrupt a meeting, he also wondered about what if he doesn't get on well with the players or if they don't accept him... It seem kind of crazy now to think about it, while sitting with the whole team at dinner in a restaurant in Barcelona for their last night of summer training in January, just laughing and enjoying good food. He was thinking to himself how can such a nice group of guys ever be rude or unwelcoming to a young player joining the team! Sure they gave him a bit of stick in the beginning and there were a few initiations he had to suffer through but now sitting here looking around the table all he could think about was how he considered every single one of them, his friends. Even Eric, not sitting next to him but close enough, his roommate for this trip, Dele was so sure Eric didn't like him at first, he was a little bit older, more serious and mature, while Dele was young and loud. He was sure Eric found him annoying, which to be honest he probably was. The idea of them sharing a room and not just sharing but actually being happy about it and enjoying themselves shouldn't be true, but somehow it is. They've known each other now for six months and all Dele can think about is how good they are for each other, he knows this is something they would never actually admit out loud let alone talk about but he knows he brought Eric out of his shell more and more, day by day ever since he joined the team and they started spending time together, and even though he doesn't like to give him any credit because he doesn't want him to get a big head, bigger than he already has, he knows Eric calmed him down a bit, made him grow up somewhat. Eric was just so cultured and smart, always interested in learning something new, always spouting interesting new facts with every conversation they shared, Dele usually wouldn't appreciate these characteristics in his friends but what he knows now is that for some reason there wasn't a possibility for him to not like Eric. Eric was even a good cook, a fact Dele learned first hand when Eric invited him over for dinner one night, it was one of the best nights of his life. Eric considered him as a little brother and wanted to help him settle in his new team and the new city because he is a genuinely good guy and also an actual big brother who was raised and spent his whole life helping people younger than him. He knew that he wasn't special to Eric, not how Eric was special to him. Dele didn't have the easiest childhood, he has been made to say goodbye to so many people he loved and who were supposed to love him back, who were supposed to be there for him no matter what, that actually opening up to someone and trusting them didn't come easy for him. But for some reason getting close to Eric despite how different they were, despite how hard it was sometimes for Dele, happened so naturally that now sitting at this table and sneaking looks at Eric, Dele honestly doesn't know what he would do without him. 

Later that night, back in their hotel room, Dele was laying on his bed wearing a baggy white tshirt and loose shorts he only wore to sleep in, he was still deep in his thoughts, he figured everything that went through his mind at dinner was because of the few beers they were aloud since it was their last night and they didn't have training in the morning, but now, a good few hours later and even after a cold shower he knew there was no more beer in his system, yet he was still thinking about Eric. In fact if he was more honest with himself he would be able to admit that he thought about Eric a lot. No matter what he was doing, brushing his teeth first thing in the morning he wondered whether Eric was awake, during breakfast he wondered what Eric will have to eat, during training it made sense to think about him because he was there always close to him, or at least that's what he would tell himself to make himself feels better, but he was still thinking about him, when he was home with his brother doing the most mundane things he couldn't get Eric out of his head. "Are you okay?" Dele heard Eric ask him as he left the bathroom with just a towel around his waist, some water droplets still present on his muscular torso, Dele doesn't understand why but he finds himself being uncomfortable and needing to look away. He wonders what's wrong with him, he has been around half naked guys for most of my life, why was he suddenly uncomfortable now? Again if Dele alowed himself to be honest he would know that for some reason being around Eric when he was missing a few items of clothing was always uncomfortable and made Dele's sking tingle. "Delboy?" Eric asked again. "Yeah fine, just tired I guees" Dele replied however he didn't know whether he was lying or not, maybe he was just tired and that's why he was thinking these things, he tried to convince himself again. "Too bad, you still need to pack" Eric told him, Dele was in his head so much that he completely forgot to actually do anything except lay in bed and think about this, for some reason still half naked man, in front of him. "I'm too tired to do it" Dele sad and turned around so that he was now on his stomach laying on the bed and not in full view of Eric gigantic still half naked body. "I don't care, I'm not doing it, just put all your things in the suit case most of it is dirty anyway so who cares". Eric was right, of course he was, but turning around now meant Dele being face to face, looking at Eric and for some reason he didn't trust himself not to say or do something stupid so he just stubbornly continued laying down, he even pushed his head face first into the pillow he was holding firmly with both of his hands, like a child holding a toy for comfort. All Dele could do was mumble something that he himself couldn't even tell what it sounded like but the next thing Dele knew Eric was on the bed next to him, sitting with his back to the headboard. It wasn't unusual for them to be on the same bed, they never minded being close to each other, however right now with Eric still warm from his shower in such a way that Dele actually feels it on his arm, he needed to gather enough energy and self control to look up at Eric, he wasn't sure he could. "Are you sure you're okay Del?" Eric asked again, Dele honestly didn't know what to say to him, He had no idea what was going on with him, he couldn't explain it. Dele mustered enough energy and self control to lift his head from the pillow, he was leaning on his elbows and he looked up at Eric and said as normal as he possibly could as to not raise any suspicion from the man. "Can you do it please, I'm not feeling good I just want to sleep". Eric looked at him straight in the eyes, it was like he could see right trough Dele, even the parts Dele himself wasn't aware of, he wanted to look away, he needed to look away, but for some reason he couldn't, Eric's piercing blue eyes were holding Dele in place, it was like he wanted to figure him out, why was he suddenly in this mood, it looked like he was on the verge of saying something but he didn't, he was the first too look away. "Okay, but you owe me" he said, and at this point Dele felt like he could never repay his debt to him at least not in this lifetime with everything Eris has done for him and how much he's helped him. "Thanks" Dele said, just so that he don't look like a jerk. "No worries, get some rest" he said as he grabbed the comforter Dele was still laying on and dragged it from underneath him and actually gone to trouble of covering Dele with it. This was Eric through and through, even though he was annoyed by you he still couldn't resist helping you and making your life better any way he could. Thankfully Dele was actually tired and he felt his eyes closing now that he was warm under his comforter, head comfortable on the pillow he was still clutching, the last thing he was aware of before he fell asleep was Eric large hand grabbing Dele's ankle over the comforter, squeezing slightly before letting go.

It was a few hours later, Eric couldn't sleep, he was laying on his left side, looking over at Dele sleeping, it was like he couldn't turn his brain off, he was still confused about Dele's behavior. It wasn't like he could stop himself from thinking about Dele when he spent half an hour packing the man's suitcase while also trying not get caught up in the sounds Dele was making while he slept. He wasn't really snoring, if he was Eric would probably record him so that he could share it with the team and they can have a laugh on the plane ride home. It was more like deep breathing that was made louder in the quiet room, Eric was trying to be quiet, he didn't want to wake Dele up, he really did seem like he wasn't feeling his best and Eric was glad he was at least sleeping soundly, also the sounds were appealing to him, he didn't really understand why, but all he knew was that he liked hearing them, like a song you love so much every time you hear it, it makes you smile. Even when he was finally done packing both of the suitcases and getting into bed, wearing just a simple pair of boxers he put on after Dele fell asleep, he also wanted to put his tshirt on but he couldn't find it anywhere in the room, he gave up on his search as to not wake Dele up. He was laying on his back in bed thinking about Dele and his behavior tonight, he understood early on in their friendship that Dele had his days when he wasn't feeling his best and wanted to be left alone which Eric always respected but today he seemed okay, he was happy and smiling all day at training, even at dinner he was in a good mood. Eric knew something must've happened during dinner, there was a moment Dele got into his head and seemed to be deep in thought every time Eric looked over at him, he wanted to ask him if he was okay but they weren't sitting next to each other and Eric didn't want to alert the whole table in case Dele really didn't want to talk about it. He waited until they were in their room, Eric tried to talk to him, asked him twice if he was okay, but Dele obviously didn't want to talk to him so Eric left him alone, helped him by packing his suitcase and just let him sleep his mood away if that is what he needed. At some point during Eric's failed attempts to fall asleep he turned over to look at Dele, still sleeping, still making those noises, Eric never really understood what it was that was pulling him closer to Dele but it was like he couldn't stop himself, at first he wanted to be a helpful teammate, introducing Dele to life as a Spurs player, to life in London, and over time they got closer, spent more time together. Eric was aware of Dele's difficulties, even though Dele rarely talked about it, Eric knew his childhood wasn't like Eric's, it wasn't stable and loving, maybe that's why Eric couldn't stay away from him, he wanted to give him something he never had, a loving, caring, supportive and helpful person in his life. He knew Dele now has a family, a brother he can always count on, but he also assumed some wounds don't always heel easy and he wanted to help in any way he could without overstepping Dele's boundaries and making him uncomfortable. If he was being honest he didn't like thinking about it much, the reasons why he cared about Dele so much after such a short time, he was scared of what conclusion he might come up with, so eventually he turned over, closed his eyes and fell asleep listening to Dele breathing.

In the morning when Eric's alarm sounded off in the quiet room, both off the boys slowly started waking up. Eric was first in the bathroom, as he usually was, Dele was not a morning person and he needed more time to get out of bed. As he was getting ready Eric wondered whether Dele felt better today than he did yesterday, he hoped he did. By the time Eric returned to the room, Dele was sitting on the edge of the bed scrolling through his phone, he looked up when he heard Eric re-enter the bedroom and smiled up at him. "Good morning" Dele said to Eric. Eric looked down at his feet and smiled subtly, he responded with his own "Good morning". He was glad Dele seemed to be in a better mood this morning. The boys went about their respective morning routines before it was time for them to head out for breakfast and fly back to their everyday lives in London. And if it made butterflies appear in Eric's stomach when the first thing he noticed after he got out if the bathroom was the fact that the baggy white t shirt Dele wore to sleep was actually his tshirt he couldn't find last night, well that was something he's gonna keep just for himself.

**Author's Note:**

> First ever post! Please be kind❤️


End file.
